javier diego casanovamaya. (fastforwards) wrote in invol_rpg, @ 2013-02-04 15:34:00 |
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Entry tags: | ! log, - swan, anthony liu, carter gray, javier diego amaya, sel sarin |
WHO: Sel Sarin, Javier Diego Amaya, Anthony Liu, Carter Gray.
WHEN: Monday afternoon, during Swan Team Practice.
WHERE: Practice warehouse.
WHAT: Sel accidentally discovers a brand new thing he can do with his powers!...on Javier.
WARNINGS: Accidental alcohol use, near-death experience.
STATUS: Complete.
SEL: Plop. Sel placed the plastic bucket of water onto the counter and the water sloshed over the side, pooling below on the ivory tiles. A little of it spilled onto his t-shirt and Sel swore in Tamil under his breath. By the end of training, he'd probably end up going back to the dorm smelling like a molotov cocktail. Again. He looked across the laboratory where a few other Swans were working, practicing whatever random tasks Li had assigned them for the day. He smiled at Claudia before turning to Javier, who was laying down some tarps an an area against the wall. "So..." Sel leaned back against the table, clearly in no hurry to get their practice started. "What are we supposed to do, again? I throw stuff at you, is it?" JAVIER: Since arriving at IVI, much of Javier's training seemed to involve other people tossing things at him, with the expectation that he should be able to dodge or catch with preternatural accuracy in doubletime. It was a good idea in theory, one that he'd been working on himself for years; in practice, it had always been much less effective than he had always hoped, which was rather embarrassing at times. But he'd come a long way since the beginning. Li's suggestions and the consistent repetition had managed to succeed where his own spotty self-discipline could not, and once he'd gotten the hang of it, his progress had begun expanding in leaps and bounds. By now, he was comfortable enough with the visions and the timewarps that training with harmless objects flying at his head was mostly just to maintain his stamina. Today, with his fractured rib still slowly on the mend, he was coming back to training on a much more gentle slope than usual. Javier had to start up slowly again. He wasn't exactly looking forward to those projectiles being rubbing alcohol or whatever noxious-smelling concentrate that Sel could scrounge up this time, but he wasn't going to complain, either. He liked the calm, laconic Singaporean boy, and usually he was quite fond of Sel's power, too. It was a shame they couldn't use it openly outside of practice. Smiling to himself at Sel's question, Javier adjusted the last of the tarps and tested them with his hands to see if they'd stay steady. His training clothes would be going straight into the wash after this, at least. "You throw things, I try not to get wet," he confirmed in his thick Spanish accent. "But it will happen, trust me." Straightening gingerly and drawing a deep breath, he turned to face his friend. "Ready whenever you are?" SEL: Sel gave Javier an apologetic look; he couldn't help but feel sorry for anyone whose training involved having alcohol thrown at their face, and Javier was both Sel's teammate and his friend. And although manipulation was arguably the part of Sel's power that was the most "fun," today he felt bored with -- and a little guilty about -- the exercise he was supposed to do. After all, Javier hardly looked like he was in any condition to be jumping around. But neither Li nor Anthony seemed to be especially sympathetic to his plight. "Sort of funny, right?" Sel said, his eyes turning from Javier back to the bucket. He took a lazy second of concentration, giving the water a slight alcoholic content. It would be enough to make it possible for him to control and manipulate it; but not (Sel hoped) quite so strong that Javier would have to end up scrubbing off the smell for hours in the shower. "That they want me to learn how to throw alcohol at people," Sel turned back, finishing his thought. "Doesn't seem very useful lah. One day I will fight a battle for Singapore, sending tasty drinks at my enemies." He gave Javier a dry grin. Sel's thoughts were wandering -- it wasn't the first time that he'd contemplated his future, wondering about what, if anything, IVF had in mind for him and his powers. There were other things Sel could do. In theory. He was curious (darkly curious, perhaps) about if and when he'd be asked to try them out. JAVIER: That comment earned Sel a breathy laugh from Javier as he walked to the center of the testing area. He and Sel seemed to have gotten along well since the very beginning, not in small part due to Sel's power and Javier's experience with alcohol; he'd been a bartender at a small peña near his flat ever since he'd left home. But more than that, Sel had a good sense of humor. Javier himself could be too sincere and earnest sometimes: he needed someone to make him laugh from time to time. Squaring his stance on the tarp, he focused on his friend in front of him in preparation for the visions that would soon be triggered. His powers would give him plenty of time to avoid a flying stream of liquid, but the effort required to push himself through a warphole in time was physically demanding, especially when he wasn't in top shape as usual. He'd be sweating by the end of this exercise, that was for sure, even though he was under strict orders to make the most minimal effort required to avoid being hit. SEL: "Mm," Sel murmured, signaling with a nod of his head that he was ready to start. He summoned up a bit of the newly-created alcohol from the bucket, smiling as it lifted up in a stream like water from a fountain. He loved his powers. They weren't always the most useful, especially here at IVI, and his relationship with alcohol was different than most other people his age, as he was immune to its effects, but it was a part of him, of who he was. He watched the stream of liquid move upward until it was a floating ball in his line of vision. Sel marveled at his creation for only a moment before smiling at Javier and sending it flying across the room where it landed with a smack against the wall. "Nice," he said, pulling up more liquid and letting it fly on the heels of the word. There was no need to talk too much in the exercise -- in fact, talking only served as a distraction, likely for both of them. Witty banter was for superheroes, which -- rescue missions or no -- they certainly were not. Instead, Sel allowed his mind to wander. He found that his control over his powers was improved when he relaxed and cleared his mind, but the latter was sometimes more difficult than it seemed. Thoughts came even when unbidden, and Sel allowed himself to turn them over in his mind. He thought again of what other exercises he might one day get to attempt in practice. If his powers could turn any liquid into alcohol, it served to reason that he might be able to manipulate the alcohol content in blood, which had an untold number of possibilities and complications. It was this possibility that Sel was considering as he reached for yet another stream of liquid. He caught Javier's eye before he released it, aimed directly at his chest. There was a funny feeling in his head as he let go. Sel winced as it turned into a stabbing pain. He stepped back, trying to figure out what had just happened. JAVIER: At the beginning of the exercise, dodging the flying balls of alcohol wasn't all that difficult. First the déjà vu of having a sudden vision, then triggering the warping effect with a moment of intense, focused purpose in his mind, and finally forcing his body to follow the course. He fell into it again with the instinctive ease of remembering how to ride a bike. But he was still worn out from recovering from his injuries, and even with painkillers dulling the ache in his side, it began to stab through the fog as he pushed himself harder. His movements became more economical out of necessity, and he started getting hit more often, or struggling to follow through on his visions -- dodging out of the way without the aid of his power. Sel seemed practically in a trance, focusing on the rhythmic movement of his alcohol manipulation, and Javier braced himself for the flight of the next globular ball of liquid. But although Sel was staring into the air the way he had been for the past few minutes, this time it seemed like Sel was practically staring through him, and no booze was lifting into the air from the bucket. Blinking, he frowned slightly, almost ready to say something out loud, ask what was the hold up, when -- He felt like he'd been hit by a truck. Worse than when Sam had bodychecked him, stronger somehow than even being shot. Suddenly he couldn't see straight, his head was spinning -- dizzy didn't quite encompass the way the world was closing in on him, like he was sinking into some kind of hole inside of himself that needed to be filled. He could feel his pulse thrumming erratically in his eardrums and he tried to step forward, but his feet wouldn't entirely hold his weight. His mouth barely wanted to move and black was encroaching on the edges of his vision. "Sel, I feel kind of..." With more alcohol flowing in his veins than blood, Javier collapsed to the floor. In a matter of seconds, he'd be unconscious. SEL: For one second or two, Sel simply stared, mouth wide. His mind rushed to put the pieces together -- Javier collapsing, the stabbing pain in his own head. In all honesty, it took only a few milliseconds to realize that the two things were connected and that he was somehow at fault. "Fuck -- help!" He yelled out the first words that came to mind as he ran forward to the place where Javier had fallen. Sel could sense it now, the high levels of alcohol that seemed to be almost radiating off of Javier's body. It was clear what had happened. Desperately, Sel tried to will it back. But his powers did not work both ways. If it was possible for him to turn his self-made alcohol back into its original form, Sel had not yet mastered that trick. There was nothing he could do. He looked around in a panic. ANTHONY: As his own powers didn’t require a lot of activity in the first place, Anthony was separated from his teammates at the side of the room, healing a badly sprained ankle. It was an easy task and within minutes he found himself walking around and watching his teammates train while waiting for Li to assign him with another task. Sel’s alarmed voice startled him as he turned around to look at what was going on. It didn’t take long to notice Javier lying unconscious on the ground. He rushed over, turning to the Singaporean. “Is he injured or did he pass out from exhaustion?” he asked to decide what would be effective, and despite maintaining his composure, his tone was urgent. SEL: "My -- my powers," Sel stammered, hardly believing his own words but knowing them to be true. He could feel the truth in them, and there was no time to search for other possibilities. Could Anthony heal this? Sel didn't know. He didn't even understand what he'd done, exactly. Javier was dying. He'd killed his own teammate. "Alcohol in his blood, it was an accident!" Sel yelled, nearing hysteria as the full weight of the situation began to sink in. His breath was caught in his chest. "It was an accident," he repeated, quieter this time. ANTHONY: The words ‘alcohol in his blood’ was much more than the others in his friend’s sentence at that moment. It reminded him of one of the many cases back home, when he had visited a hospital for a night shift, and a university student was brought into the emergency room over the same reason. Javier’s condition was more serious, with his face growing paler as if all his energy was draining away. This was an all too familiar sight, and one that Anthony never waited around to watch what would happen next. . He crouched down on the ground next to Javier, his hand resting on the older boy’s arm. As usual, he concentrated on healing Javier, and a well-acquainted sensation spread from the palm of his hand, one that signalled that his power was working. He waited for something else to come too; those few seconds of searing pain whenever he healed someone who was dying. But it never came. When he was done, he could only stare at down at Javier with a rather dazed expression. “It’s okay now.” JAVIER: The world rushed back at him all at once. When he opened his eyes, though, he felt calm and whole. Better than he had when he'd walked in the room, even. Javier blinked up at the teammates above him, Anthony's face close by, Carter and Sel's hovering further, and pushed himself up on his elbows. His chest didn't hurt anymore; he peered down at it with a frown before his forehead smoothed out in unexpected relief, and when he touched his face with one hand, he realized there was no lingering tenderness around his eye or his mouth either. "Ehh..." He fumbled for words for a moment, his accent thick from confusion. "What happened...?" The last thing he remembered was training. How he'd ended up on the floor was a mystery, much less why Anthony was there and, he surmised, healing him of everything -- even the injuries he'd gotten in the fight, which his friend had stubbornly been opposed to fixing. CARTER: "You're fine, friend," Carter muttered, reaching to grasp Javier by the shoulder. It had taken naught but a second for him to arrive by his side, Sel's startled cry being all the provocation he needed. No one could ever accuse Carter Gray of slow reflexes -- but being slow on the uptake, that was another thing entirely. His hand still firmly latched onto Javier's shoulder, he turned to frown at his other two teammates; Anthony, who simply looked worried, and Sel, who looked even worse for the wear. "The fuck happened?" SEL: "I..." Sel stammered, relief at Javier's recovery flooding his thoughts and making it nearly impossible to string together a coherent sentence. He hadn't even noticed that it was Carter who was talking; as far as Sel could tell, it could have been anyone. His eyes couldn't tear themselves away from Javier's stirring form on the ground. He'd nearly killed someone. Would have killed him, had they been anywhere else, on any other team. The realization sunk in like ice and Sel looked up at the teammates who were starting to surround him. If it could happen to Javier, it could happen to any of them. He was dangerous. "Sorry," Sel finally managed, backing up as he said the word. He could hear Team Leader Li saying something to him, could even see her approaching out of the hazy corner of his eye. But Sel knew that he couldn't stay. A few quick strides and he was at the door, throwing it open without a glance behind him. |